It Started With Dawn
by SmileyBoo
Summary: Just a unique take on what BTVS would have been like if Dawn had been given to Willow and Tara instead of to Joyce and Buffy. AU-but keeps the general plotlines of the series from season 5 onward. Willow's POV.
1. Intro

Disclaimer: I do not own any Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, plot lines, etc. Duh.

Intro

This was not the way it was supposed to be. Tara wasn't meant to leave me, and Buffy wasn't supposed to die, and I wasn't meant to lose control, and-well, lots of things weren't supposed to happen. But they did. All because of that decision. The one we never, ever should have made. I can't exactly say which one it was-there were lots. Like the one that started all our problems, for instance, or the one that sealed our fates. But either way, it all started with Dawn…


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, plot lines, etc

Disclaimer: I do not own any Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, plot lines, etc. Duh.

Chapter 1

"Are you ready?" Tara asked, her face determined. How could I say no? We knew this day was coming; we had been planning for it for months.

"Yes." I grabbed hold of my girlfriend's hands as the monks around us chanted, and a glowing green orb descended between us. The voices grew louder, and the ball began to spin faster and faster, whipping our cloaks around us, until a big flash of light burst out, knocking everyone back. Then, just as Tara let go of my hand-'poof!'- the light vanished. It was then that I heard the first sounds of a new life; and it wasn't just mine…

"Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Tara was the first to take control, crawling over to the domed room's center. With tears streaking down her face, she picked up the crying object.

"Willow," She cried, "She's finally here!" I crept over to my dearest friend, my only love, and stared at the baby in her arms.

"Hi Dawnie." I cooed into the kid's scrunched up face. "She looks like a fish, doesn't she?" I noted. Tara laughed.

"Yeah. I guess she does." And so began a perfect family, doomed to an unexpected, unjust end.

Although the actual completion of the spell that brought Dawn into the world was the real beginning of my story, I think it could also be Tara and my first meeting. Or, perhaps, the first few months after.

We had both joined our college, Sunnydale U's Wicca group, to find bake sales and meditation instead of actual witchcraft. Being the only two _real_ witches, Tara and I managed to band together in search of something better. We discovered it in a really unexpected place; a monastery. You know, one of those buildings full of monks? Usually, it's all made up of Christian guys, but this particular sect was of a higher order, and welcomed women too. Now, Tara and I weren't looking to become full-time witches, and the location wasn't exactly close to school, so when the monks asked us to join them; we said no. However, they seemed really insistent that we join, and gave us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Well, maybe not once-in-a-lifetime, but pretty darn close. It was the chance to be the first ever part-time monks, so we only needed to help out with spells and stuff whenever we had the time to come over, and, more importantly, the chance to be parents.

I wasn't always gay, and I had this really sweet boyfriend called Oz before all this-but that's beside the point. That was before Tara. And I have never loved anyone as much as her-before or since. I was only in my first year of college, and Tara in her second, and only in the first few months of our relationship, so we weren't exactly thrilled with the idea of starting a family together; but circumstances were different. Without us, a child would grow up without parents, an orphan raised by monks; and we were _not_ about to let that happen. On second thought, though, maybe we should have…

To complete our initiation into the monks' order, Tara and I, aside from doing some easy spells to prove ourselves as witches, had an extra requirement to fill. We didn't know, at the time, that the monks were creating a kid out of a key that would help a Hell-demon back into her own dimension. All Tara and I were told was that a dangerous ball of energy was being turned into a baby to contain its destructive power-and we, both witches, would have to protect it, keeping the whole thing a secret. Now, even the lie we were told seemed pretty important, so we didn't ask questions when the monks told us that we had to fill a small bottle with blood from 'the Slayer'. That totally made sense. I mean, you need blood to have a person, and who better than the blood of the strongest person I knew? I was pretty close to 'the Slayer', or Buffy, as I called her-we were best friends, for crying out loud! But actually getting an entire bottle of blood from her? That was a different story…


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, plot lines, etc

Chapter 2

'Thump!'

'Thwack!'

'Pshhhh!'

"Oh sh-!" The bloodthirsty vamp turned to dust right in front of me.

"You okay Will?" Buffy asked, concern showing on her face.

"Y-yeah! I-I'm fine! Yup! N-never been better!" I stuttered. I do that sometimes; when I'm nervous. Especially on nights like this one, when I was about to do something risky.

"Okaay." Buffy responded, skeptical. "Are you sure? You don't really seem yourself tonight."

"M-me? You just banish the thought!" I smiled, a little too eagerly. My friend didn't seem so easily convinced, but she let it go, because at that moment, a demon attacked.

Now, this wasn't your everyday demon-this one was a real killer, with scaly green skin and three giant horns coming out of its head, along with ugly, jagged teeth. Though he didn't look too different than any other monster, the big thing about this one was that Tara and I had summoned it. Why? Well, that was the conscience-bendy part, because we wanted it to attack Buffy, and draw blood. Lots and lots of blood.

"Argh!" the demon bellowed, its eyes red with fury.

"Come on, Greenie! Show me what you got!" Buffy teased, as she ducked the monster's punch.

"Grrrrrrr!" it growled as it pounced on the slayer. Buffy dodged a second time, and then the fight _really_ started, with brutal kicks and hits on both sides. I waited as the violence continued, screaming "Go Buffy!" though I was trying to ruin her concentration rather than encourage her. I checked my watch; the fight was running a little long, and Buffy was still in great shape. I was getting a little antsy, so I decided to speed things up a bit. Moving closer to the two, I prepared to act. I couldn't believe I was about to intentionally hurt my own best friend-but desperate times called for desperate measures. So though I felt a little guilty, I still didn't hesitate to stick my foot out when Buffy backed up.

"Ah!" She cried as she toppled to the ground.

"_Sorry!"_ I thought desperately. But to be honest, I didn't really regret it. I knew my cause was more important than Buffy's current health, but also; sometimes Buffy really did deserve a good kick.

Anyway, my demon wasted no time in slashing at Buffy's stomach, trying to eat the guts within. Gross; I know.

Finally, when the right amount of Buffy's blood had been spilled onto the ground, I moved to distract the creature, throwing a nearby rock at its head. The thing turned to me, forgetting my friend, while Buffy, still in obvious pain, pushed the monster off her and started a new attack. As Buffy fought for her life, holding her wounded belly, I performed a quick spell, and had all of the Slayer's blood collected off the ground in no time.

In the meantime, Buffy wasn't doing so well. The more kicks and punches she threw, the weaker she became, and the more drenched her bloody T-shirt became. Now, I wasn't about to let my best friend die, so I uttered a quick incantation to banish the demon, as Tara and I had planned I would, and it disappeared within a second. Buffy dropped to the ground.

"Ow." She muttered, trying to sit up.

"Buffy; are you okay? That was quite a fight! You could have been killed! I'm sorry I wasn't much help out there-"

"No big." She groaned, interrupting my babbling as I helped her up, supporting her as we headed back to our dorm room. "There wasn't really anything _you_ could have done to help anyway. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt."

"I guess you're right." I lied, helping her into bed. I didn't feel the need to do anything else to help her-Buffy was a quick healer. Her wounds would be almost completely healed by morning. After tucking my friend in I turned away, fingering the container of crimson liquid in my jeans' pocket. My work was done.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, plot lines, etc. Duh.

Chapter 3

"Did you get it?" Tara asked, as I shut her door behind me.

"Yeah. I have it right here." I replied, pulling the glass vile out of my pants. "See? I filled the whole thing up, just like the monks said."

"Good." Tara responded, getting up off of her bed. "Is Buffy okay?" She inquired, always the caring one.

"Yeah. I mean, she'll probably need a few days to recoup, but I think she'll be fine."

"I'm glad. I want to help our case, but I-I don't really want anyone getting hurt along the way, you know?" She confided, her blue eyes filled with emotion.

"I know." I wrapped my arms around her and rested my pale head on her shoulder. "I know."

We dropped off Buffy's blood the next day, performing a quick transportation spell to get to the monks' temple.

"Halt." The head monk, named Balthazar, as he stopped us in our tracks. "Do you have it?"

"The blood? Yup. Right here!" I proudly showed off my prize while Balthazar snatched it from me.

"So, c-can we g-go?" Tara timidly asked.

"No." The monk glared at us.

"Of course! We have to know our next task first, right?"

"No." Balthazar stood firm. "You have completed the only act we have asked of you, and we will ask no more." My girlfriend and I stared at him in silence.

"Okay then, if that's all then-"

"It's not." The man assured us. "We still have to complete the ceremony.

"T-the ceremony?" Tara stuttered. "T-the one t-that turns the e-energy into-"

"Silence!" Balthazar roared. "We are never permitted to speak of this procedure!" Then, in a softer tone, he added, "But yes; now that we have the spell's final ingredient, _it_ will begin shortly."

"So I guess we should go into the sanctuary, then." I offered, leading the group."

"Halt."

"Excuse me?" I turned to the monk.

"You can't go in."

"W-why not? Tara inquired, furrowing her brow.

"Your clothes."

"What?" I surveyed my outfit; an ankle-length jean skirt with a purple T-shirt and sneakers. It didn't seem too different from what I wore the last time Tara and I had visited. "What's wrong with them?" I asked the obvious question.

"You need to put on your ceremonial robes."

"A-are you serious?" I was surprised, to say the least. Clothing seemed unimportant when up against the harming of a slayer or the great ritual we were about to perform.

"Yes, quite."

I didn't feel like arguing anymore, so I just said, "Okay. Where are they?"

Tara chuckled, as I tried as hard as I could to contain my laughter. We looked ridiculous. My cotton robe was _way_ too long, stretching far past my feet, while the sleeves drooped to the ground and the black hood completely covered my face.

"You look like the Grim Reaper!" Tara whispered to me, tugging at her own cloak. Tara had the opposite problem. Her cloak was more like a dress four sizes too small, barely reaching past her knees, and extremely tight. Not that I didn't like the look; but it didn't appear all that comfortable, either. I had the sneaking suspicion that we had been given the wrong robes, but no one else seemed to notice.

"Silence!" Balthazar cried, ending our fit of giggles. His face was hidden by his hood's shadow, but I was sure he was glaring at us.

"Now, let us begin!"

The group, excluding Tara and myself, who stood around us in a circle, began to chant. Now, four months after we had joined the monks, their master plan was being put into action.

"Are you ready?"


End file.
